~NCIS, Bullpen
McGee rubbed red and itching eyes, the irritation from screening endless hours of video footage. Ziva was partnered with Fornell, out tracking the bouncer at the club that Tony and Petty Officer Danford disappeared from. McGee stiffened in his chair when an alert unexpectedly opened on his PC. His movement was so abrupt, it caught Gibbs' attention.
"McGee?" Gibbs asked. "What is it?"
"Petty Officer Danford's cell phone has been turned on in the last few minutes."
Gibbs stood and crossed to McGee's desk. "Can you trace it?"
"On it Boss, but the signal is intermittent and weak."
Irritation crossed Gibbs' face briefly as his own cellphone rang. Hoping it was Fornell or Ziva, he pulled it out of his coat pocket and answered distractedly, while still watching McGee. "Yeah, Gibbs."
"Boss!" The connection was poor, but the familiar voice made him nearly weak-kneed with relief.
"Tony…thank god," Gibbs gasped out. "Are you alright? Where are you?"
"It's a warehouse, I don't know where. You're going to have to trace the call," came the breathless reply.
Gibbs looked over at McGee, who was watching with concern etched on his features. "Trace it. Tony doesn't know where he is," he ordered, pulling his weapon and keys out of the desk as he spoke.
McGee nodded quickly and pulled his laptop closer. It would be faster than his desktop PC and he wouldn't have to interrupt the trace already running on Petty Officer Danford's cell.
McGee inhaled sharply in surprise. "Gibbs, he's calling from Petty Officer Danford's cellphone. They must be together."
Gibbs nodded. "Location?"
"Anacostia; still trying to pinpoint the address." McGee stood and retrieved his own weapon while watching the screen.
"What's your situation, Tony? You injured?"
"We'll need an ambulance or two. One suspect with a self-inflicted GSW secured in the basement stairwell," Tony reported. "An accomplice I haven't seen yet, and a victim locked in a basement room. I've got to get to her but I can't take the phone down with me or you'll lose the signal."
"Got the address!" McGee exclaimed triumphantly.
Tony stiffened as he registered engine noise outside. "Gibbs, I'm out of time here," Tony said urgently. "There's a vehicle outside."
Gibbs felt his heart rate skyrocket. He bolted for the stairs, knowing McGee would be right behind him. His gut was telling him they had no time to spare.
"Tony, we've got your location. McGee and I are coming. You're close…in Anacostia," Gibbs told him. "Whatever it takes…do not get yourself dead before we get there, ya got that?"
"Understood, Boss. Don't stop for coffee, okay?"
Gibbs smiled at the gallows humor but before he could answer, he heard Tony's voice trail off as he put down the phone. Then rapid footsteps echoed over the line…Tony was on the move. They got to the sedan in under a minute and Gibbs tossed McGee his cell, the call from Tony still connected. Gibbs barreled out of the NCIS lot while McGee readied his own phone to give directions.
"Crap," McGee muttered. "The call dropped. We won't be able to hear anything now."
Gibbs sped through the Navy Yard gate as fast as he dared, then turned toward Anacostia and floored the accelerator. Over the years, he'd had far too many opportunities to be worried on Tony's behalf and it occurred to him that Tony never answered the question as to whether he himself were injured. Ten minutes…maybe fifteen. A sense of dread filled him now; anything could happen before they got there. Fifteen minutes might as well be an eternity, one in which he couldn't do a damn thing to help Tony except drive.
He reminded himself of Tony's resourcefulness and smarts and hoped it would be enough again this time. Tony was alive. He'd somehow freed himself and subdued one suspect, but he was in no way out of danger, not by a longshot. Ten minutes later they reached an old, unused industrial park along the Anacostia River, and zeroed in on a warehouse with two vehicles parked outside. This had to be it.
The sedan rolled to a stop, and just as he and McGee stepped out, the muffled sound of several gunshots in rapid succession broke the early morning silence.
~Warehouse
Tony was so relieved to have gotten through to Gibbs he collapsed in the chair next to the desk, the adrenaline that had been sustaining him depleted now. As he relayed his situation to Gibbs, he became cognizant once again of his relatively poor condition. No food or water for days, drugged, beaten, and a probable concussion. But Gibbs was coming. He and Leigh were almost home free, he just had to push on a little longer.
The sound of a vehicle engine circling the building had him forcing leaden limbs into motion. He stood stiffly and let Gibbs know what was happening before rushing back to the stairwell, flashlight and key in hand. He descended the stairs and stepped over Miller's limp form at the bottom. He was unconscious now, his leg still oozing blood, and Tony couldn't find an ounce of empathy for the man. His only concern was for Miller's captive.
Leigh's frightened expression melted into relief on seeing it was him. "Tony!"
Tony reached for her shackle with suddenly shaking hands. "Leigh, someone just pulled up outside. I'm going to lead whoever it is away from you. While I distract them, I want you to get upstairs and hide."
Leigh shook her head rapidly back and forth. "Tony, no!"
"Yes," Tony insisted. "I got a phone call out. My team is coming; they'll be here in minutes. We just have to keep out of sight until they get here, then this will be over."
"Over…," Leigh repeated wistfully.
"Dammit!" Tony swore as the key dropped out of sight, beneath his jacket where it was draped over Leigh. There was a clink as it hit the floor. Between his shaking hands and his haste to free her, he'd fumbled and dropped it.
"It's okay, I'll get it." He saw his jacket shift as she swept along the floor for the key with her free hand. "You go; I can open it."
"No, I can't leave you alone again," Tony insisted, freezing when he heard the sound of the metal warehouse door sliding in its track again. "I have to get you out."
"Tony, there's no time…go now!"
"Alright," Tony nodded grimly, already rising. She was right. "You hide, and stay hidden. No matter what you see or hear." Whatever happened in the next few minutes, there was no way he was going to let anyone hurt her again. Whatever it took.
Just as he reached the top of the stairs, Tony heard the grinding metal sound as the warehouse door was closed again. He had just enough time to duck behind a stack of crates before he heard the echo of footsteps moving across the concrete floor. Crouched low, he pulled his gun from his waistband and stealthily crept through the maze of crates, trying to find a path to circle behind Miller's accomplice.
Tony quickened his steps when he realized the man was moving toward the far wall where the office and the stairs were. Leigh. He was going to be forced to move into the open. At least he was between the suspect and the exit.
Come on Gibbs, get your ass here. I could use some back up right now.
Tony cautiously poked his head from behind the crates for a brief look before pulling back behind cover. A dark figure moved through the shadows, his back turned. He was approaching the stairs, and Tony wasn't sure if Leigh had gotten out of the basement yet. He took a deep breath and stepped into the open, weapon at the ready.
"Freeze…Federal Agent!"
The man whirled, one hand in the air and one hovering over a weapon holstered at his hip. Tony was surprised to see he wore a uniform of a private security company.
"I said freeze," he repeated, voice dropping low and dangerous as he moved closer.
"Hey, take it easy…I'm a security guard," the man explained quickly. "We're always chasing vagrants and druggies out of here. I just came in to check, he added hurriedly. "There's car outside; is that yours? What's a fed doing here?"
Tony ignored the questions. It all sounded plausible, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. "I want you to very slowly remove your weapon and toss it toward me." Tony narrowed his eyes as the man's gun hand twitched.
"What…why?"
"If you are what you say you are, we'll get this all straightened out," Tony replied reasonably. "Everything will be just fine." The man seemed to consider him for a moment, before nodding and slowly moving to comply. Tony saw a flicker of something cold and calculating in his gaze, and he didn't like it one damn bit.
As the guard started to remove his gun from the holster and prepare to toss it, he saw movement behind the man. Leigh stood in the doorway to the stairs, half hidden by the door itself. She'd put his jacket on and it was huge on her petite frame. She looked petrified; white with fear and she was shaking her head emphatically. Don't trust him, she mouthed. He's the other one. She hid most of her body back behind the door again, barely peeking around it.
The guard noticed him looking slightly to the side and frowned. It all happened in a split second; the crunch of tires on gravel outside, the guard's arm coming up, Leigh's panicked shout.
"Tony, look out!"
The shots were nearly simultaneous; first Tony's two then the guard's one, the sounds echoing loudly in the cavernous space. The guard flew backward and crashed to floor, two bullet holes in his chest. At the same time, Tony staggered, feeling a stabbing, white hot pain scoring across his ribs. His knees buckled, refusing to support him any longer and he fell heavily to the floor. Fireworks burst in his vision accompanied by an explosion of pain as the back of his head rebounded off the concrete, striking near the wound caused when Miller had thrown him into a brick wall.
Tony tried to rise but the world tilted crazily, and he slid back down to the floor. Warm wetness trickled down his side and the back of his head. Dark spots began to dance around the edges of his vision. He tried to focus and push back against the creeping dark at first, but the exhaustion and pain won out. Tony's vision tunneled and dimmed further as his body continued shutting down, and he stopped fighting it. He'd done what he needed to do.
Tony heard the squeal of the metal door sliding open just before he lost the battle to stay conscious. His last two thoughts before the encroaching darkness was complete were that Gibbs was here, and Leigh would be safe now.
~.~